Dinosaur Eggshell Fragment

These precious relics from the late Cretaceous period are eggshell pieces believed to come from a Saltasaurus dinosaur—a distant relative of Brontosaurus / Apatosaurus. Fossil evidence shows that Saltasaurus had thousands of spines covering its entire body, similar to a pin cushion. In addition to these spines, Saltasaurus also had a number of unusual armor plates called "scutes" spread across its back as protection against attack from large carnivores such as Tyrannosaurus. Saltasaurus lived 65-75 million years ago in what is now a desert area in Argentina now known as Patagonia, in the province of Neuquén. Eggshell pieces are approximately 1 inch on the longest axis. Shape, color and size vary.

NGSS

This product will support your students' understanding of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)*, as shown in the table below.

Elementary

Middle School

High School

3-LS4-1

Students can use the Dinosaur Egg Shell Fragment to analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago.

4-ESS1-1

Students can use the Dinosaur Egg Shell Fragment to identify evidence, to identify patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in the landscape over time.

DCI-4/ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth.

Local, regional, and global patterns of rock formations reveal changes over time due to earth forces, such as earthquakes. The presence and location of certain fossil types indicate the order in which rock layers were formed.

MS-ESS1-4

Students can use the Dinosaur Egg Shell Fragment as evidence to construct a scientific explanation based on the fossil record from rock strata for how geologic time scale is used to organize Earth's 4.6-billion-year-old history.

MS-LS4-1

Students can use the Dinosaur Egg Shell Fragment to analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past.

MS-LS4-2

Students can use the Dinosaur Egg Shell Fragment to apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.

DCI-MS/ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth.

The geologic time scale interpreted from the rock strata provides a way to organize Earth's history. Analysis of rock strata and fossil record provide only relative dates, not absolute scale.

DCI-MS/LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity.

The collection of fossils and their placement in chronological order is known as the fossil record. It documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms throughout the history of life on Earth. By reviewing anatomical similarities and differences between various organisms living today and organisms in the fossil record, we can reconstruct evolutionary history and interference of lines of evolutionary descent.

HS-ESS1-4

Students can use the anatomical structures of the Dinosaur Egg Shell Fragment as evidence to communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple line of empirical evidence.

HS-LS 4-5

Students can use the Dinosaur Egg Shell Fragment and information about the fossil record to evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in the extinction of species.

DCI-HS/LS4.C: Adaptation.

Species become extinct because they can no longer survive and reproduce in their altered environment. If members cannot adjust to change that is too fast or drastic, the opportunity for the species' evolution is lost.

Suggested Science Idea(s)

4-ESS1-1 MS-ESS1-4 MS-LS1-3 MS-LS4-1 MS-LS4-2 HS-ESS1-4 HS-LS4-5

Students can use the Dinosaur Eggshell Fragment as part of an investigation to gather information and evidence to support claims for early life in the Geologic History of Earth.

With close examination and research about the Dinosaur Eggshell Fragment, students can make inferences about Earth's history, common ancestry, diversity of life and adaptation.

Any hands-on activity with fossils will create a strong foundation for Geologic History lessons at all grade levels

* NGSS is a registered trademark of Achieve. Neither Achieve nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of, and do not endorse, this product.